Hello Ken, You can get multiple pre-approvals from various lenders. When you are shopping around for your mortgage and arranging meetings with each bank, they will each perform a pre-approval after taking your info and doing a credit check. The problem with multiple pre-approvals each time a new credit check is performed it will adversely affect your credit score, not by much but it still will affect it. Plus each of the lenders will know you have been shopping them around as well. The benefit of a Mortgage Agent in this specific case is two fold. The running around and arranging meetings with each bank is avoided as we can negotiate with all our available lenders on your behalf. Secondly one credit check is performed and that credit check is forwarded to each lender for their review. The lenders want us to send our client their way so they are always adjusting their rates and programs to attract our clients to them. We get the best rate available upfront and even lower rates when we do volume with the lenders so our rates tend to be better than what your current Bank can offer. There are also mortgage companies that have programs equivalent to the big 5 banks but have much lower rates. What do the big 5 banks do for you on your mortgage business anyway? Each and every month a mortgage payment gets taken out of your account and there is no real benefit to the client where the mortgage is, the real benefit comes in the amount of interest you are paying your lender each month to borrow their money. My point is if one of the big 5 banks can give you a great rate that is fantastic, but there are much lower rates available at lenders that the general public do not know of or have access to. I have access to over 25 lenders across Canada including the Big Banks and I would be more than happy to discuss the lowest rates available in the marketplace with you. Even if you have a pre-approval, a short discussion will reveal if you have found the best rate out there. Give me a call anytime. Abraham Niyazi - Mortgage Agent - Lic#M08010640 - Centum One FInancial Corp - Lic 10758. Cell: 416-993-4082 Toll Free: 1-866-728-3708 x 115 http://www.centum.ca/abraham_niyazi/ I deal with 25 lenders and can do mortgages across Canada except Quebec.

Powered by

One of the mortgage brokers i spoke with said that it doesn't hurt your credit score to get pre-approved by more than one broker/lender. but, if being pre-approved by a particular broker/lender doesn't actually lock you to that broker/lender, then is there a real benefit to getting pre-approved by multiple brokers/lenders? does it incent them to give you better rates? i'm looking to buy my first home, and would appreciate your guidance and experience. thanks!

Getting pre approved simply gives both you and the seller a good feeling of what kind of a loan you can be approved for . You know the price ranges you can look for to get the payments you want, and the seller can feel good that you being pre approved shouldn't have problems getting financing. Getting pre approved by more than one lender soes nothing to improve this. The one broker is probably hoping you'll get pre-approved with them, because they know that a preapproval means you are much more likely to get financing through him, which means he makes a commission. But you have done what you needed, you are preapproved. You don't need more than that, going through additional brokers to get more preapprovals would just be eating up more of your time. Instead, you should now be concentrating on what house to buy. My advice would be to get preapproved at one only, but you can still get information on loan programs through different brokers. That way, when you do agree with the seller on a particular transaction, you can go with the loan program that makes the most sense to you. You will have 2-3 days after the seller accepts your offer before you have to start formal loan processing, so you will have that time then to do your final homework and decision on what broker and loan program to use.

Powered by

Just wondering, if i'm shopping around for mortgages, can i get pre-approved by more than one lender? i wouldn't see why not, but wanted to make sure..... are you committed to a lender after getting pre-approved, and how can i make sure multiple pre-approvals don't hurt my credit too much? thanks!

Yes you can get more than one pre-approval, however, the credit bureaus WILL see that your credit is pulled and this MAY drop your scores. Pre-approval means at minimum a credit check. Prequalification is based solely on the info you give the lender. Rather than try for so many pre-approvals, this would be the time to compare the rates that lenders are offering. This way YOU stay in the driver's seat.

Powered by

If i get pre-approved with 1 lender and i found the house, can i change my mind and deal with a different lender? what is the whole point of pre-approval before buying the house? also, can i get a pre-approval in ny but the house i'm looking at is in az? my field of work will be the same. as i will be transfering with the same company. sorry for the multiple questions. first time homebuyer if you can't already tell.. thanks in advance.

yes, you can change lenders anytime you want up until you sign a contract and get the money. the point of pre approval is that it shows the sellers/agents/you what a company is willing to lend you. its as good as money in your pocket. its better off finding a preapproval in the are you are dealing with because the lender will almost always want to be there in person if you are borrowing a large sum. and why dont you ask your company, most companies that relocate people have very good, well thought out divisions that help you find and secure a loan, help you find a home, and help you sell your existing home

Powered by

I heard that every time someone runs a credit check on you, it affects your credit rating (in a bad way). since different banks offer different mortgage rates, and that some banks are tougher to get a loan than others (due to meeting stricter company criterias), how can the potential borrower shop around for the lowest rate that he or she can definitely qualify for if he or she can't go get pre-approved from different banks? if the borrower decides to do so, when its time to actually apply for the loan, the bank can reject your application because they think either you have tried to apply from different banks and got rejected already, or that you have multiple loans taken out already since the credit report does not indicate the purpose of past credit checks. therefore, is it a better idea to get pre-approved by one bank and use the same bank when its time to apply for the mortgage loan? please correct me if i have mentioned anything that is untrue. thank you all in advance.

Whoa ok, this is not as complicated as your assuming! 1. You most likely will HAVE to get pre-approved for a seller to take your offer on a house seriously . 2. Do go and get pre-aproved a few places to see where you will be able to get the best deal (rate.) The key is to do this all within a few days so that it only affects your score once and not several times if you were to drag it out. (This change to how scores are calculated was done b/c it is reasonable for people to shop around for the bext rate.) 3. And they WILL know the reason for your inquiries even if you don't take out the loan ;) 4. Once you find a lender you are confortable with then you will know who to go back to once you do put an offer on a house and it is accepted and you need to go back and finalize the funding. Hope this helps, I know it's daunting, but it's so worth it in the end!

Powered by

When i first turned 18 i got my first credit card with td with a limit of $500 within the last 6 months they have increased my limit to $750 and pre approved me for $1500 in over draft protection. 2 months ago i applied for a master card because i needed a higher limit and i didn't like the points my td card gave me i was approved with a limit of $2500. last week i went into my bank at td and the teller informed me that i have been pre approved for a new card with a credit limit of $14500 i took them up on this offer. i have been told that having 3 credit cards is bad because now i have the potential to get myself into alot of debt and when i go to apply for a mortgage i will not get it due to my high credit limits, although i never cary a balance on any of my cards i always pay them all off even before i get my statements. i was also told that i should get a line of credit instead of the last card with the $14500 limit. is this true? i need some credit advice! also does it look good to have such big limits even though i will never use all of it?

That's the trick to getting those 800+ scores. Never carry a balance - you have amazing credit by doing this. I don't like that much of a credit limit. I would reduce it - it just takes a phone call. Note: Any time you use more than 30% of your credit limit you start reducing your score. So bring down the limit to a point that you'll never spend over that 30% usage. You can always increase the limit again later by just calling them. Three cards will not hurt you. Keep paying in full, reduce that limit, and you'll be fine. One note - I like to pay when I get my statement. Creditors report on the closing date. You want to show some usage of your credit cards on your credit reports. The credit line is a good idea - only if you need the money. When they tell you that is because a mix of credit is 10% of your score - not enough for me to pay interest - but some like to do that. Might be a good idea if you want a house someday though. Consider a secured loan with money you have in the savings. This will report as an installment loan. With the big limits a future mortgage creditor may suspect you'll go on a spending spree after buying your home - it could harm you. /